Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 282 Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,486 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 282 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Travelers Companies were worth $4,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ledyard National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 2,067 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.3% in the third quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 2.9% during the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Travelers Companies by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 905 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC raised its holdings in shares of Travelers Companies by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on TRV. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Travelers Companies from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Travelers Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $280.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Travelers Companies from $268.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Travelers Companies from $244.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $275.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $260.47.

Insider Transactions at Travelers Companies

In related news, EVP Maria Olivo sold 10,410 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.80, for a total value of $2,725,338.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 111,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,102,211.60. This trade represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 3,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.80, for a total value of $990,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 250,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,301,683.20. The trade was a 1.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Travelers Companies Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Travelers Companies stock opened at $245.13 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.64. The Travelers Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $200.21 and a 52-week high of $269.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.78.

Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The insurance provider reported $9.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $2.65. Travelers Companies had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 19.06%. The company had revenue of $12.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.01 EPS. Travelers Companies’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Travelers Companies, Inc. will post 20.57 EPS for the current year.

Travelers Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Travelers Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.56%.

About Travelers Companies

The Travelers Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance.